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Volunteer Job Descriptions

Poets’ Haven Door Host

The door host role is only required at our Upper Crust readings on Monday nights. This job involves meeting people as they arrive for the reading beginning at 6:30 pm. It also includes the collection of the $5 door charge, administration of memberships, distribution of anthologies and counting of the audience. Perhaps the best part is having the opportunity to work with our exceptional Haven Host Anne Gerard Marshall. The commitment is one Monday evening.

Poets’ Haven Mic Host

Whether at Audreys or the Upper Crust, the Mic Host plays an important role at every Haven Reading to make sure the evening or afternoon runs smoothly. They liaise with the Haven host, greet and go over the guidelines with readers and emcee the event: welcome all guests, introduce each reader, make announcements, thank sponsors and ensure the Haven runs on time.

To sign up for these two jobs online visit the Haven Sign Up page and choose from the drop down menu or contact Ellen Kartz at 780-422-8216.

Anthology Proof Reading

As with many other tasks, volunteers do the proofreading for the Stroll of Poets Anthology. Each year we solicit volunteers to help at one (or both!) of two proofreading sessions. The first session takes place before the anthology is sent to the graphic designer and requires a one-evening commitment, usually in late February or early March. This session deals with two tasks: proofreading the poems and choosing the anthology cover. Proofreaders look for basic typos, spelling and grammar errors, unclear or questionable punctuation, spacing errors, and anything that, in general, “raises a question.” They do not have to proofread for “meaning.” On that same evening, the anthology cover is chosen by the tried-and-true “majority wins” method.

The second session takes place after the graphic designer has laid out the book. This session will appeal to volunteers who have a meticulous eye for detail, because it’s our last chance to catch errors before the proof goes to the presses.

Both proofreading sessions are great fun, and offer the chance to get to know some of your fellow Strollers a little better.

Blinks Organizing

The Blinks is an exciting evening of poetry delivered in 30 seconds. The one-night event usually takes place on the first Monday of Poetry Festival in late April and invites any and all poets to sign up and join the fun. Committee tasks involve choosing the theme as well many other jobs of varying sizes. The commitment is usually two meetings, late January and mid-March.

To sign up for these latter two jobs contact Ellen Kartz at 780-422-8216.